Grossman Burn Foundation Providing Shelter for Haitian Earthquake Victims

The Grossman Burn Foundation (GBF) announced today that it has sent thirteen portable housing units and other supplies to Haiti as part of the ongoing relief effort following the devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake in that nation.

The GBF began an emergency fundraising appeal a little more than two weeks ago, and in that brief period, raised $13,500 from 90 different donors. In addition to contributions from Grossman Burn Center (GBC) doctors, staff, and supporters, lead gifts were made by Drs. A. Richard Grossman and Peter H. Grossman, individually, as well as by renowned musician and former GBC patient Travis Barker.

The funds were used to purchase thirteen “Shelter Boxes,” portable housing kits that include a durable ten-person tent with privacy partitions, as well as thermal blankets and insulated ground sheets, a water purification system, tools, and a multi-fuel stove. Additionally, each Shelter Box includes children’s drawing books, crayons and pens.

GBF Chair, Rebecca Grossman commented, “While the Grossman Burn Foundation’s primary mission is to provide burn care and medical resources, we are, at our very core, about helping those in need. It was impossible not to be moved by the plight of the millions of people affected by the earthquake in Haiti. I am grateful for the outpouring of support our appeal received and am eager to continue this effort in the weeks and months to come.”

The GBF will continue to raise money for the purchase of additional Shelter Boxes that it hopes to deploy to Haiti in the near future. Shipping and distribution is being coordinated by Shelter Box USA, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides shelter for disaster victims around the globe. Each Shelter Box is individually numbered and can be tracked via the Shelter Box USA web site: www.shelterboxusa.org.

Veronica Brandon Miller of Shelter Box USA stated, “The Grossman Burn Foundation, with its track record of humanitarian assistance in global hot spots like Afghanistan and other developing nations, is a welcome partner in our work to aid in the relief efforts underway in Haiti. By sheltering those displaced by the earthquake, we hope to provide a degree of comfort and security that will allow individuals and families to begin rebuilding their communities.”

The GBF is the non-profit philanthropic arm of the Grossman Burn Centers. For more information please visit: www.grossmanburnfoundation.org.

The GBC is the largest plastic surgery-based burn practice in the western United States. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the GBC has three additional centers in California and Louisiana. In 2010, the GBC is moving its headquarters to a new state of the art surgical facility at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center in West Hills, Calif. For more information please visit: www.grossmanburncenters.com.